video/skills/pipelines/cinematic/edit-director.md

Edit Director - Cinematic Pipeline

When To Use

This stage turns the beat map into a paced cinematic timeline. Rhythm and restraint matter more than effect count.

Prerequisites

Layer	Resource	Purpose
Schema	schemas/artifacts/edit_decisions.schema.json	Artifact validation
Prior artifacts	state.artifacts["assets"]["asset_manifest"], state.artifacts["scene_plan"]["scene_plan"], state.artifacts["script"]["script"]	Assets, hero frames, beat map
Playbook	Active style playbook	Typography and transition consistency

Process

1. Cut By Emotion First

Cuts should follow:

• emotional emphasis,
• reveal timing,
• musical turns,
• visual contrast.

Do not optimize only for information density.

2. Protect Strong Moments

If a look, line, or gesture is doing the work, let it live. Do not over-cover it with extra inserts.

3. Use Sound To Push The Edit

Ambience, impacts, dropouts, and music changes should help create momentum between scenes.

4. Use Metadata For Timing Logic

Recommended metadata keys:

• beat_timing
• audio_turns
• title_card_windows
• reframe_notes

5. Quality Gate

• the emotional arc is intact,
• reveals land clearly,
• title cards are sparse and timed with intent,
• strong moments are not buried under coverage.

Common Pitfalls

• Overcutting emotional material.
• Using speed ramps or flashy transitions by default.
• Letting title cards replace editorial clarity.